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CH. 1
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You stretched out, reaching for the sky with a low groan, and relished in the pop of your joints. A long day at the desktop in the corner of your living room had left your shoulders and back muscles tense. You needed some fresh air before you lost your mind.
Setting your hot cup of tea down on the window sill you pulled up on the window to open it and slid through to the fire escape outside. It was the closest thing to a balcony you had and you'd set up a little tomato plant and some herbs planters to one side.
After the quake that had rocked the glades a few years back the apartment building beside yours had never reopened. The few windows that aimed at your apartment had been boarded up ever since. It wasn't the prettiest view, surely, but if you sat just right you could see through the buildings across the street to the park behind. And sometimes you could even see the stars above.
The metal grating dug uncomfortably into your shoulder blade while you accommodated yourself, but you found a good position and let yourself sigh contentedly.
For several minutes you zoned out and enjoyed your tea and let your eyes rest after a long day editing at the computer. The city sounds were comforting to you- the honk of a horn several blocks over, the music that drifted from a party, the steady sound of cars passing on the main street just on the other side of the building.
And then, inevitably, the sirens and telltale red and blue lights of the police.
It was not an uncommon sight or sound in the Glades and you'd grown up with it as a veritable lullaby as a child, but you still sighed and reached back inside to the table by the window for the tv remote. It was important to know if it was a simple car chase or if it was a horde of super jacked brainwashed zombies heading down the block.
"-hunt the Green Arrow. Sources inside the SCPD say they are determined to bring the vigilante in for questioning regarding the death of Detective Billy Malone. We head to Linda live on the streets where police are said to be in pursuit of the hooded vigilante."
The screen changed to a woman out on a familiar street corner and you stopped listening to the tv. The sirens were getting louder, the lights more noticeable as they bounced off the brick buildings and the metal store front grates. You stood, setting the mug down, and leaned on the railing.
You expected to see a speeding line of squad cars or some police dogs, you were not expecting the green hooded figure that turned the corner and started running down your alley.
For half a beat you were frozen.
Then all at once your mind started working again and, more importantly, your mouth was too. "Hey!" You tried to shout as quietly as you could. "Up here. Quick!" Your mouth, it seemed, was moving faster than your brain. You had no time to regret your words as he hesitated and you gestured urgently to the fire escape ladder attached to the apartment below. He needed help.
Your apartment was on the 3rd floor, the top floor of your particular building, and you were sure the fire escape ladder on the second floor would have been far too high for you to reach, but this was the Green Arrow after all. Sure enough, after a second's deliberation, he ran at the wall. He jumped as he approached and kicked off the wall with one leg as he came up to it, twisting in the air to grab hold of the ladder and pull himself up.
You swallowed, deeply impressed and finally realizing the Green Arrow was going to be hiding in your apartment- a fugitive hiding in your apartment. Too late now.
You stepped back, pressing your back against the railing of the fire escape and allowing him room to slide in through your window.
"Quickly. Inside." The adrenaline had started pumping and you felt exposed outside on the fire escape still. The moment his feet touched down on your fake wood flooring you were following behind, pushing him further into the living room.
Turning in place you closed the window with perhaps too much force, only after realizing your cup of tea was still outside. Too late now.
With the sirens outside muffled by the glass your brain started processing everything you'd done.
One- you had just invited the Green Arrow into your apartment. Two- you had just invited the Green Arrow into your apartment to hide from the police. Three- you had just invited the Green Arrow into your apartment to hide from the police because he may have killed a detective. Four- you had clearly lost your damn mind.
You took a deep breath, then another for good measure, and turned to look at your new guest.
He was standing by the window in the far corner of the room, looking out at the streets, mostly hidden by the wall and the curtains. Even in the warm light your lamps gave the room the top half of his face was obscured in shadows.
You must have been silent for too long because he nodded in your direction. "Thank you." His voice was distorted and far too deep and you could only hope that something was doing it and he wasn't just gargling gravel.
"Oh, no." You tugged at the hem of your shirt, pulling your sweatpants up from where they'd fallen low on your hips. At least you didn't have a dozen half drunk tea cups lying around. "It's not a big deal."
It was a little bit of a big deal.
"Do you want a drink?" You asked. "A bottle of water or some tea? The news is still showing the search for you." Even as you asked you were already heading to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of water. You had no idea what the protocol was.
You had the feeling he was watching you just as much as he was the cop cars outside. He said nothing while you dug around in your pantry for the bottles of water you'd bought when you'd thought you were going to try hiking.
You hesitated for a moment, watching him watch you over the kitchen counter, before you walked back to him and offered the water bottle. "Here. It's important to stay hydrated and all."
There was an uptick on his jaw like he was trying not to smile when he took it.
"Thank you." He didn't bother to open it, but he kept it. "No problem."
An approaching squad car's siren echoed through the apartment and he pressed himself against the wall and shifted the curtain over. When the lights passed you thought you saw him relax, though just by a fragment.
"My name is Y/N, by the way, Mr. Arrow." You said. He only nodded in acknowledgement.
Rather than shift awkwardly in front of him you moved to sit at one corner of your couch.
"You can sit, if you want. It might be a while before they clear out."
He didn't move from his spot. You cleared your throat.
"You know, a couple of years ago, with the quake and then the soldiers that took over, on two separate occasions you saved my friends." You brought your legs up to tuck under you. "You've done so much for the city."
You hesitated for a moment. "I believe in what you're doing. No one will ever know you were here. I promise." Least of all because it would mean admitting to harboring a fugitive.
It was his turn to hesitate. Or, at least he didn't say anything for a long while before "Thank you."
"That's a lot of thanking. It really isn't a big deal."
"Harboring a fugitive isn't a big deal?"
It was the most he'd offered so far.
"Well, I mean, yeah. Like, it's huge. But I owe you, you know. And I hope you didn't kill that cop. Or at least that you had a great reason." You glanced at the tv, checking for news almost as much as you were avoiding looking at him after mentioning his possible murder.
After a long minute where the only noise was the news report he spoke again. "I did."
You weren't sure if that meant he did kill the detective or that he'd had a good reason, but you had to trust him at this point. You nodded. "I won't tell anyone."
You both sat in silence for the next ten minutes, watching the news report on the man hunt and sometimes Big Belly Burger commercials that reminded you you still needed to have dinner. He pushed away from his corner finally.
"I should go." He said. The sounds of the sirens had long since faded. It made sense that he would have somewhere to be.
"Okay. No one lives in the apartments below me, it's probably safe to go out the same way." You stood from the couch and skirted around it to reach the window before him. It would be less suspicious for you to check out the window.
You slid the window up and stuck your head through, making a show of getting your mug back. You pulled back inside. "All clear from what I can see."
He nodded and slid around past you to the window. Without thinking it through you caught his arm. "Hey, I'm being serious here, if you need it my window's always open to you. I work from home, I'm always here."
You were sure you saw a smile this time. Another "thank you" came your way.
You smiled back. "Any time Mr. Arrow, buddy, whatever."